English abbreviation · Knitting
What does ssk mean in knitting?
ssk means slip slip knit.
In French: glisser, glisser, tricoter
How to work it
Ssk stands for “slip, slip, knit”. Like k2tog, it is a decrease that turns two stitches into one, but it leans to the left. Used together, the two give symmetrical shaping.
Slip the first stitch from the left needle to the right needle, as if to knit: put the right needle into it from left to right, and let it slide off without working it. Do the same with the second stitch, one at a time.
Both stitches are now on the right needle. Put the tip of the left needle into the fronts of those two stitches, from left to right, so that they sit on the left needle again, turned. Then knit them together through the back, with the right needle.
The turn is the whole point of the gesture. Slipping the stitches as if to knit twists them slightly, and knitting them together through the back untwists them. The result is a neat decrease that leans to the left.
In a pattern
Row 7: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Take the row “Row 7: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.” “Row 7” is the seventh row. “k1” knits the first stitch. “ssk” is the left-leaning decrease, at the start of the row. “knit to last 3 sts” means to knit plainly until three stitches remain on the left needle. “k2tog” is the right-leaning decrease, at the end, and “k1” knits the last stitch. This row loses two stitches, one on each side, which is why the pattern uses both decreases: the shaping stays symmetrical.
US or UK?
Identical. American and British patterns both write ssk, with the same movement. A few patterns use a variant such as “skp” or “sl1, k1, psso” for a similar left-leaning decrease. Read the pattern’s notes if the abbreviation is defined there.
Common mistakes
- Slipping the stitches as if to purl. The decrease then leans the same way as a k2tog, or the stitches come out twisted. Slip both as if to knit.
- Knitting the two stitches through the front once they are back on the left needle. They stay twisted and the decrease looks crossed. Go in through the back, as the gesture asks.
- Forgetting that the slipped stitches are still counted. Before the knit, you have two stitches to work; after it, one.
A tip
Look at the decrease on the next row: a good ssk leans to the left and matches the k2tog on the other side. If your ssk looks loose, slip the stitches a little tighter, or work the first one closer to the needle tip. See also “k2tog”, its right-leaning twin.
Try it with a row from your pattern
Here is a row that uses it. Replace it with a row from your pattern: every abbreviation the reader knows is underlined, and its meaning shows on hover.
Row 7: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.